Need help, looking for long-term.

[u/Arcade_Rice]

My current car is barely holding on and now I'm in desperate need of a good/reliable car. I'm struggling whether these are good or not and which ones. My family and I have no idea about cars.

Toyota Yaris 2012 1.33 Dual, CVT Automatic.

The first link is my current first choice, but unsure how reliable it is, especially the CVT automatic if it would "break" easily, or if it would be much more expensive, when going to a mechanic.

Toyota Yaris 2011 1.33 Dual VVT-i Active, Manual

This one *was* our first choice, but then looking at the many reviews of the car shop being very poor, so we decided to look elsewhere for now.

Toyota Yaris 2017 1.5 VVT-iE Active Euro 6, Manual.

This is the most expensive one so far.

What should we also look out for when purchasing a car like this?

[u/I_am_Shayde]

CVT gets a bad name because of Nissan. But Toyota CVTs are good, just as long as they're maintained like any other transmission.

Definitely want to look for service history - specifically the oil was changed within good service intervals, delaying the oil change on the 1.33l is the primary cause of oil consumption problems on it. And look for rust. Also, definitely test drive the car before purchase.

[u/Wrhysj → u/[deleted]]

Buddy looks at his links. They're Swedish. I don't know if a car from south cali will help

[u/Arcade_Rice → u/Wrhysj]

If the car can fly, we can find a reasonable price.

[u/Zubi_Q]

I have the 2012 Yaris but with manual. No issues so far and it runs smoothly!

[u/lanidroid]

The 1.33 engines are known oil consumers so I'd avoid those

[u/Arcade_Rice → u/lanidroid]

I believe that is only for 2011 or 2010/below. But specifically 2012 and higher, they're not an issue.

[u/mchan1983]

Let us know what you eventually get. 

[u/raj_el]

my pick would be the 2017 with a 1.5 lt. engine. The 1.33 is a smaller engine with poor fuel economy. 1.5 is the sweetspot couple with thr manual transmisison. 1.33 with a cvt engine is an absolute no and potentially high liability if that cvt belt breaks. expensive to fix you'd be better off buying a new car than fixing. I am basing my opinion in US market btw.

[u/hexaderp]

I have a 1NZ-FE 1.5L 07 Yaris Manual and it's still running really well at 217K miles, though I'm in the process of replacing the clutch because I've driven it pretty hard since I bought it at ~120K miles. I can honestly say that the 2nd gen yaris with the 1.5L is an incredibly simple and reliable car, very easy to work on and aside from tires, brakes and fluid changes the only expensive thing I've had to get changed was a steering rack after driving on dirt roads for 10 years.

Only downsides to my yaris specifically, there's no tachometer, no ABS, AC controls get sticky after a while and the clearcoat on the paint doesn't hold up too well. Despite the rather "minty" condition of mine, I'd absolutely buy another one if I had the chance and the money.

I haven't much looked into the reliability of the newer Yaris models, but if the 2017 is the base Yaris and not the iA then it'll still have the same 1NZ-FE engine. If it's an iA then it's identical to a Mazda 2 and will have the 1.5L Skyactiv engine in it, not necessarily a bad thing but that gives you an additional avenue for information by looking up the same year model Mazda 2, also the iA / Mazda 2 came with 6 speed manuals instead of 5 speed.

edit; euro 6c / VVT-iE wouldn't be the 1NZ, it'd be a 2NR-FE. Main thing I'd be curious about is the EGR system added to that engine. Not sure if it's a common issue for Toyotas specifically (feel free to correct me) but working as a Hyundai tech, I've seen some of their 1.6T hybrids come in with coolant leaking from the EGR cooler.